


The Least of These

by justheretobreakthings



Series: Voltron Bingo [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fantastic Racism, Galaxy Garrison, Gen, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Post-season 7
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 14:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16662479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justheretobreakthings/pseuds/justheretobreakthings
Summary: There have been plenty of people throughout the universe who weren't exactly keen on the idea of a half-Galra being a paladin of Voltron. Why should things be any different on Earth?





	1. Chapter 1

 Of all the things that the paladins had to become used to now that they were back on Earth and recovered – or at least recovering – from their battle injuries, the worst, for Keith at least, was the attention.

It wasn’t as though they hadn’t gotten plenty of attention as Voltron during their adventures throughout the rest of the universe, but there had been a disconnect then, a sort of surreality where the praise for Voltron existed separately from their duties. They may have to put on a show or parade or join in a celebration or feast, but the team would retire to the quiet of the castle afterward, often never to return to that planet as their duties took them elsewhere.

Now, though, they didn’t have that respite. They were staying here for the foreseeable future, in the crowded Garrison lodging that had been provided for them, and there was no escape. Keith couldn’t stay holed up in his hospital room forever without going stir-crazy, but doing anything besides lying in bed meant having to make the unwanted adjustment to having constant eyes on him.

It wasn’t even just Garrison personnel. In the new absence of the Galra regime on Earth, the media had gotten up and running again, on every level from local to global, and there was no story that had piqued the interest of the world more than that of Voltron. The Garrison did their work to limit the amount of press allowed around the team, especially so that they could start joining in on reconstruction efforts with as little interference as possible, but they didn’t keep them on a total media lockdown. At least once a day, someone or another was allowed to force the team into a photo op or an interview session.

Allura, ever the diplomat and almost as a reminder that she was once royalty, was entirely unfazed by it, and would be able to give eloquent soundbites off the cuff that Keith couldn’t have come up with if he’d had weeks to prepare. Shiro was at least used to this sort of Earth media attention, having once been essentially the poster child for the Galaxy Garrison, so he took it in stride. Lance seemed to eat up the attention like a rich dessert, and although only rare media personnel were allowed on the premises, he made sure to regularly smile out windows and even strike poses, “Just in case anyone’s sneaking photographs,” he explained to Keith once completely unprompted. Pidge and Hunk endured the attention with composure, save for plenty of eye-rolling. Keith just hated it.

Fortunately, Shiro and Allura were able to take on most of the heavy lifting for the media, and none of the others were ever called on to give a speech – for which Keith would always be immensely grateful – but he couldn’t get out of every media-related event. One such event that he was especially dreading came about just a few weeks after he was officially cleared to be fully discharged from the Garrison’s hospital: a planned televised event to honor the pilots of Voltron and Atlas for their contribution to Earth’s liberation, in the form of a globally broadcast medal ceremony.

There had been plenty of groaning and sighs when they were told how long the ceremony was expected to last and that their best formal wear was required, but Shiro and Allura gave their best combined pep talk on grinning and bearing it. This was, after all, going to be the first international press event for Voltron, making it one of momentous importance for the image of the team and the Garrison, and was intended to be a cornerstone of morale for reconstruction.

As much as Keith hated the prospect of enduring the event, at having to stand on a stage in a suit and tie in front of scores of cameras and even have to give a brief speech, as did everyone who was being honored – Allura had thankfully offered to write his for him, and although she claimed it’s because she knew how worn out he was and wanted that to be off of his shoulders, he had a feeling that she probably also was worried about what sort of quality any speech he came up with on his own would have, which was fair – he was willing to endure it. If only for the sake of the team.

That was one of the reasons it came as a surprise to him when, three days before the ceremony, he was cornered by a man in the standard gray Garrison officer’s uniform on his way from his meal in the cafeteria back to his living quarters. The man was lean, bespectacled, with a narrow face and neatly trimmed beard, and Keith did not recognize him at all. The officer remedied that quickly with an introduction.

“Officer Findlay Hannegan,” he said, offering his hand out to Keith. “Head of Public Relations for the Galaxy Garrison. A position that hasn’t been particularly relevant for a while, up until recently,” he added with a chuckle and a bizarrely wide smile. “It’s good to meet you in person.”

“Um, thanks,” Keith said, gingerly accepting the handshake.

“Now, Mister Kogane – do you mind if I call you Keith?”

“Uh, go ahead?”

“Excellent. Keith, I wanted to speak with you about a small matter regarding the medal ceremony scheduled for later this week.”

“What about it?”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a few others involved in this matter present while we speak. We have a meeting room set up, we were just waiting to track you down. Could you come along with me?”

Keith hesitated. “Um…”

“I assure you this won’t take more than a few minutes of your time,” Hannegan said.

“All right, I – I guess,” Keith said cautiously.

“Excellent,” Hannegan said again, and with that, he turned and steered Keith down the hall, guiding him to the elevator and then through several more halls before arriving at a meeting room. The door was ajar, but Hannegan still knocked lightly on it before opening it.

The three people already in the room, all occupying one side of a conference table, broke off a quiet conversation and looked up as Hannegan walked in, introducing them as he did. “This is Officer Sonam Gadhavi, the Garrison’s Media Liaison,” he said, gesturing to the stout woman in the far left seat. “Officer Asier Mendoza, our Director of Communication.” The bearded man in the next occupied seat nodded to Keith. “And Ms. Claudette Wyman, representative for the broadcasting association who we’re collaborating with in order to produce and broadcast this Friday’s ceremony.” Another curt nod, from a honey blonde with her hair in a tight bun.

Hannegan took his own seat between Mendoza and Wyman, then waved toward the chairs across the table. “Go ahead and sit down, Keith.”

Keith did so, slowly, not failing to notice the uncomfortable sensation of the others in the room all staring searchingly at him. He definitely did not like being the only one on this side of the table – it made him feel as though he were on trial or something – but sitting anywhere else or remaining standing would have been even more awkward, so he didn’t have much of a choice.

“So, uh,” he said as he scooted his chair in toward the table. “You – you said you wanted to talk about the, uh, the ceremony thing?”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Hannegan said with a nod. “Now, I’m sure you’re aware that there has been plenty of publicity surrounding Voltron at the moment. As well as the Garrison and its affiliates. People are quite curious to get to know the pilots responsible for driving the Galra away from Earth, as I’m sure you can well understand.”

Keith nodded, feeling a little lost, as the officer continued. “Although of course the Garrison has been doing its utmost best to ensure that you and your teammates have the peace and privacy you need to recover from your recent battle and adjust back to life on Earth, with this level of attention on you and your group, some details are bound to slip into the public’s general awareness.

“And, well, when your, ah…  _mother_  and her, um, companion, arrived on-planet several days back, she hadn’t seemed particularly concerned about stealth. Her arrival did not go unnoticed, and of course there were a number of channels she needed to go through in order to ensure she was not a threat to you, the Garrison, or Earth, and so a fairly sizable number of people were made aware of both her presence and her connection to you.”

Keith felt a strange tightening in his stomach as he cleared his throat and asked, “I, uh – what – what do you mean?”

“I mean, word is out,” Gadhavi spoke up. “The Garrison has always had very strict protocols in place for privacy and the handling of classified information, and we would have liked to keep your mother’s presence under wraps if we could, but it seems there may have been a leak along the way. Unfortunate, yes, but it’s happened, and now we must deal with it as it is. You understand, of course, how delicate the situation here on Earth is, and how people might be tempted to think it’s in the public’s best interests to let them know if there are any Galra invaders still within the - ”

“Galra ‘ _invaders’?!_ ” Keith repeated incredulously.

“Sorry, Galra ‘visitors’,” Hannegan said, holding up a hand. Gadhavi looked a little miffed at being cut off, but settled back and let the other officer continue, “The semantics are unimportant, really. The point is, the public knows about Krolia. And the public knows about her connection with you.”

“So… so people know I’m - ”

“Half-Galra, yes. It’s really not the sort of fact that people keep to themselves once they know about it.”

“Oh.” Keith swallowed a lump that had found its way into his throat. “Well, um, what – what does that have to do with – with the ceremony?”

“My organization and Garrison officers who are in charge of coordinating this event have discussed the issue of the Voltron team’s public image,” Wyman answered. “And we feel that for this particular occasion, the best thing that you could do - for the sake of the reconstruction efforts and for Voltron - is to, ah… not put yourself any further into the public limelight that you need to be.”

“… What are you saying?”

Hannegan sighed. “We’re saying that we think it would be best if you do not attend Friday’s ceremony.”

Keith felt his jaw drop as he sat frozen in his seat, staring at the officers across from him, trying to wrap his head around what was happening here. “Wait, you – I – I thought the whole point of the ceremony was, like, recognition for Voltron, why – ?”

“And it still is,” Hannegan said. “The ceremony’s still expected to go just as planned, just, ah, with one fewer on stage, you see. And, Keith, we appreciate what you have done with Voltron, and for Earth, and we would be more than happy to commemorate your achievements in other ways. Just because we don’t give you a medal up on the stage doesn’t mean we still can’t give you one later. And if you’d like, we could have the event’s caterers bring up some of the dinner straight to your room, so really it will be like you’re not missing anything.”

On his armrests Keith’s hands curled into fists, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. “Except for the fact that I won’t  _be there_.”

“Yes. Well.” The officer cleared his throat. “In the grand scheme of things – ”

“I feel like you’re not quite understanding why it is that we’re asking this of you,” Mendoza interrupted. His gaze on Keith was narrow, hardened, and Keith matched it as best he could. “It really is not anything against you, as a person; we’re just trying to think of the people at large. This ceremony is going to internationally broadcast, live. Practically everyone on Earth is going to be watching it, getting to see the people responsible for taking out the threat to their lives being thanked and honored. And all of these people have been hurt by the Galra. All of them have lost family members, or homes, or freedom, or health, all at the hands of this empire whom none of them had ever heard of until they received word about their tyrannical reign and atrocities they have committed. And now, we are trying to rebuild, trying to maintain peace and cooperation and put people’s fears to rest. That’s what the ceremony is for: it’s a way to say to the world that things are under control, things are okay, they don’t have to be afraid anymore. And to celebrate humanity after it had been struck a terrible blow.

“Now, Keith, put yourself in their shoes. Imagine that you had been here on Earth, watching the planet you call home being destroyed, for months that turned to years, and then, finally, the invading force that caused all this hardship is taken down, the defense efforts that were the only beacon of hope among humans were finally successful. And now imagine that after all of that, you still have to watch a member of this alien species that had hurt you so much get thanked and honored and receive praise as much as any human who has been struggling under this threat for years and put so much into fighting back. Don’t you think you would be bothered by that?”

“No,” Keith said through gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t. And I’m sure there are plenty of others who wouldn’t either.”

Hannegan sighed again and folded his hands on the table in front of him. “I’m sure there are, yes. But there are also plenty who  _would_. And in most circumstances, you understand, we probably wouldn’t be opposed to you attending this ceremony, would say that it’s the problem of those people, not you. But things are so delicate right now, Keith. Our planet’s been on the brink of total despair, total destruction, and has finally been given the reprieve it’s due. And right now, we need people to be happy. We need to ensure that we don’t cause any more disruption or controversy or uproar than need be.”

“And why are you so certain that my being there will cause ‘uproar’?”

“The fact of your heritage has already begun to sow suspicion toward the Galaxy Garrison, and there’s certainly been hostility brewing over the fact that the person who led the group credited with defeating the Galra is actually Galra himself. I don’t suppose you’ve searched for your name on the internet at all while you’ve been here, have you?”

“Um, no?”

“That’s probably for the best.”

“Why? What are – ?”

“Let’s not get off topic,” Wyman cut him off. “We are not here to discuss your public image as a whole. We’re just focused on this Friday’s event and ensuring it goes as smoothly as possible. Mr. Kogane, I understand your frustration, and I sympathize, but right now, we need to prioritize the Garrison’s reputation and global ties, and the needs and concerns of the public at large, over your feelings. We are asking very little of you here. All we want is for you to step out of the spotlight, at least for the time being. Honestly, this is probably the better option for you, too. Not to mention safer.”

“What – what do you mean safer?” Keith snapped.

“She, ah,” Hannegan said, “She means, well, for those people who  _do_  have a problem with your… genetic makeup, it may be best not to risk fanning any flames. And not making a big show of broadcasting your location and face and the like.” He waited for a response, but when Keith did nothing but sit in stunned disbelief, he sighed again. “Keith, we’re really not trying to antagonize you, or upset you, or anything of the sort. We’re just trying to keep things peaceful. You understand, right? You can understand why we’re asking this of you?”

Keith took a long, shaky breath in. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, I guess I – and you all, um, you all agree? All the officers and – and all, they – you all want me to sit this out?”

The four people across from him nodded and murmured their confirmation, and Keith tried to deny that he was feeling a little ill. If it was just a matter of keeping the peace… And, well, he hadn’t been looking forward to attending a big televised ceremony anyway, so, maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

He swallowed down his chagrin and nodded. “All right. I’ll, um, I won’t go to the ceremony.”

Hannegan let out a large breath that ended in a titter of nervous laughter. “Ah, thank you, Keith, glad you saw things straight. Really, we hate to ask this of you, this is all terribly awkward, but – ”

“Right,” Keith grunted. He pressed a hand to the table and shaking pushed himself to his feet. “So, if we’re done here…”

“Yes, yes, of course, you’re dismissed,” Hannegan said with a wave of his hand.

Keith couldn’t leave the room fast enough.

* * *

He couldn’t quite explain why he didn’t tell the other paladins about the change in plans until the night of the event. Part of it, perhaps, was that there never was a good moment to broach the subject. Part of it was that he hadn’t quite processed what those officers had actually told him. A big part might have been that he could feel himself start to burn with embarrassment every time he thought about it.

Whatever the case, it was why he still had to break the news to them shortly before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, and why he stood now, still in his orange Garrison uniform rather than his Sunday best, hesitating in front of the door.

This was the meeting room the paladins and had planned to gather in before going downstairs to join the others in the auditorium. Keith opened the door slowly and peeked inside, noting that he was the last one there, and the only one not in evening wear. Shiro, in a gray dress shirt and black vest, was in the middle of a conversation with Allura, who was wearing a pink dress in a sleek style that was much more Earth than Altean, probably obtained from a store in town. Lance, in a navy-blue suit and whose hair looked particularly shiny with product this evening, was helping secure a mustard-yellow necktie around Hunk’s collar; the latter looked bizarrely formal without his usual headband. Pidge was sitting on the table, her feet on the seat of a nearby chair, dressed in a black skirt and a silky green top and currently focused on the video game handheld she was gripping, her tongue poking out in her concentration.

They probably were waiting on him before they left together. Taking a deep breath, Keith entered the room fully, his entrance getting the others’ attention. “Keith!” Lance cried. “You’re not even dressed yet!”

“Yeah…” Keith said, scratching at the back of his neck. “I, uh…”

“You’re not still too sore to wear a suit or anything, are you?” Hunk asked, frowning toward him. “I thought you were cleared ages ago.”

“No, no, it’s not that, I just – um – I’m not going.”

The others stared at him. “What do you mean, you’re not going?” Pidge asked.

“Oh my god,” Lance groaned, “Is this, like, some sort of stage fright thing or something? Keith, this is no different from the parade thing we did back on Puig, so just suck it up, smile for the cameras, and you can mope when you get back afterward.”

Keith bristled and folded his arms over his chest. “Look, that’s not it! I don’t have stage fright!”

“Then why aren’t you going?” Shiro asked. “I know this isn’t really your thing, Keith, but it’s important to the Garrison that we’re all there to have – ”

“No, it’s not,” Keith said, dropping his gaze to his feet.

“Keith – ”

“They told me not to come.”

There were a few seconds of silence that Keith spent staring at the floor before Shiro spoke again. “What do you mean? Who told you not to come?”

“The – the officers who – the ones in charge of the ceremony thing. They talked to me the other day, they said – they said it would be better if – if I didn’t…” he trailed off, chancing a glance back up at the others only to find them staring at him, looking utterly baffled.

“Keith, what are you talking about?” Allura asked. “Why wouldn’t they want you to be at the ceremony?”

Keith took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, the words came out sounding quiet, strained. “They, uh… they thought it’d be bad PR to honor a Galra at the ceremony. Said that people would be upset by it, didn’t want to risk causing any problems. So – so they told me to stay here, and they’ll just give me the medal in private later tonight or tomorrow or something.” He paused to clear his throat. “So, uh, you guys can still go ahead and all, I’ll just – ”

He stopped abruptly when Shiro suddenly and without a word turned and marched out of the room, turning sharply at the door and stomping down the hall with enough force that they could hear his footfalls echoing off the walls even after he turned into the next hallway.

“Where’s he going?” Lance asked.

“I can take a guess,” Keith mumbled, inklings of dread beginning to form in his stomach. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Shiro wanting to come to his defense – because he had a feeling that was exactly what Shiro had gone off to do – but there was a time and place for it, and now wasn’t either. He didn’t want Shiro to stir up a fuss or do something to delay the ceremony or anything of the sort. He had just wanted to let the others know that he wouldn’t be able to make it, and then go back to his room and forget that this whole evening had ever happened.

He followed Shiro out, hastening to try and catch up to him, and he could hear the others behind him. It did him no good, though. Shiro was fast, his strides long, and the meeting room was only a couple hallways and two flights of stairs away from the banquet hall where the ceremony was being hosted, so there was no way he could have managed to reach Shiro before the latter had already reached the back room where they were supposed to gather before going onstage.

He could hear Shiro speaking as he approached, since he had whipped out that heavy, authoritative captain voice of his that commanded the attention of the room whenever he used it.

“ – where you get off trying to tell one of the Paladins of  _Voltron_  that they’re not welcome at this event, but I’ll have you know that – ”

“Shiro!” Keith said, darting into the room and grabbing him by his flesh-and-blood arm. Shiro blinked, stopped mid-sentence to turn to him, and Keith was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the many eyes now on him. Apparently Officers Hannegan and Gadhavi were going to be guiding the proceedings tonight, since they were the ones Shiro had been half-lecturing, half-yelling at, but besides them, the MFE pilots, Sam, and Coran had already arrived, dressed in formal wear like the paladins and all looking just a little lost. Coran shot Keith a questioning look and gestured with a tilt of his head toward Shiro, silently asking what this was all about. Keith only shook his head. “Shiro,” he said. “Don’t. Just – you don’t need to – ”

“Keith, I’m not going to let you get shoved out of an important ceremony just because of your heritage,” Shiro said, shaking his arm loose of Keith’s light grasp. “And frankly I’m  _appalled_  that the Garrison would try to make it happen in the first place,” he added, leveling a dark glare at the officers.

“Wait, what is this?” Coran spoke up. “Keith’s not attending?”

“Now, wait a minute!” Hannegan said. “The plans were changed days ago. Did you not inform your companions that you wouldn’t be joining the ceremony?” he asked Keith.

“You think  _that’s_ the problem here?!” Shiro snapped. “That Keith waited a while to tell us? He shouldn’t have had to tell us at all, because  _you_  – ” he jabbed a finger toward Hannegan, “Shouldn’t have barred him from the event in the first place!”

“Shiro – ” Keith started.

Hannegan brought up a hand to shove Shiro’s accusatory finger away. “We did not bar him from the event,” he said, lifting his chin. “We made our case to him, explained why we felt it best for the sake of the event that he sit out, and he agreed with our reasoning. It was as much his decision as ours.”

That sounded to Keith like a bit of a simplification of how things had occurred, but he didn’t argue the point. And when Shiro raised a questioning brow to him, he just shrugged in response.

Shiro shook his head and turned back to Hannegan. “Look, I don’t know what your explanations or reasoning are, and I don’t care.  _All_  of the paladins should be at this ceremony.”

Hannegan sighed. “Ideally, it would be lovely to have all the paladins here, but – speaking of which, you can come in,” he added. Keith frowned in confusion before he realized that Hannegan wasn’t looking at him, but past him, where the other paladins were standing in the doorway.

“But what?” Shiro demanded, not taking his eyes off Hannegan as the other paladins filed into the room.

“But all things considered, this is the best option for tonight’s event,” Gadhavi said. Shiro whipped his glare over to her, and Hannegan’s shoulders drooped, no doubt in relief at having Shiro’s furious attention on someone else now. “We’re attempting to showcase our winning efforts  _against_  the Galra, to give people cause to celebrate, and we want to keep things as peaceful and safe as possible.”

“What, you don’t think having Keith around will be safe? Him being Galra does not make him dangerous!”

“We’re not saying  _he_  is. We’re saying people’s  _reactions_  to him being involved in this ceremony might be.”

“You have got to be – ”

He was interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing, and Keith turned to where the MFE pilots stood to see James rolling up the sleeve of his sports coat to make a show of looking at his wristwatch. “Not to be rude,” he said. “But aren’t we supposed to be getting out onto the stage, like, really soon?”

“Yes,” Hannegan said, stepping forward with a nod. “Yes, we are. Mr. Shirogane, if you would, we – ”

“Hey, if Keith’s not going out onto that stage,” Pidge piped up, “Then what’s even the point of us being here? We’re a team, we should be all or nothing.”

“Yeah!” Hunk said, already reaching up to undo his tie.

“Guys, stop!” Keith all but shouted. “Look, he’s – he’s right. I agreed to this. I – I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but it – but he’s right. It’s for the best, okay?”

“Keith – ” Shiro started.

“Look, I’m not… happy, about this, but – but if my being there will – if there’s gonna be any problem – I just – ” He took a deep breath. “This isn’t worth the trouble, you know? It’s not. If they don’t want me there, then I don’t want to be there either.”

“Well maybe that means _we_  don’t want to be there,” Pidge said, scowling over at Hannegan and Gadhavi.

“So you wanna just make things worse by ruining the whole event because of me?” Keith said.

Pidge looked aghast. “What?! No, that’s not what – ”

“I know, but that’s what it’s gonna end up seeming like! Could you just – could we – I – I don’t want to make this a big thing. Please. Could you guys just do the stupid ceremony? So we can just move on?”

There was silence among the others before Shiro slowly asked, “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes,” Keith answered flatly. It wasn’t, not really, but there was no winning for him here. He didn’t want to be left out of the team, but he didn’t want to cause any trouble, and he didn’t want this goddamn ceremony to happen, but he didn’t want it to get ruined. No matter what happened here, it would end up being something he didn’t want. Might as well go the easiest route. “Seriously,” he added. “Just do the ceremony. It’s fine. It’s… fine.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

Keith shrugged. “I dunno. Kosmo needs a walk, maybe I’ll do that.” Anything but stick around to  _watch_  the ceremony.

Hannegan cleared his throat. “If this is settled, and if you’re all ready to go…” he hedged.

Shiro cast him a look that clearly said,  _I’m not done with you yet_ , but he obliged. The MFE crew followed the officer through the door at the other end of the room, the one leading to backstage, first, the paladins and Shiro following. The others each glanced uncertainly back to Keith as they left, and Keith hoped to high heaven that he was misreading the pity in their gazes. Shiro was the last to go, and he turned back to Keith and opened his mouth to say something right before he went through the door, but Keith cut him off.

“Just go,” he said. “Sooner you guys start, sooner you finish, yeah?”

A worried frown passed over Shiro’s face. “You gonna be okay, Keith?”

“Yeah.”

“You know this doesn’t mean anything. These officers are asses. Just because you’re not on the stage doesn’t mean – ”

“I know. I know, I – just go.”

Shiro gave him one last encouraging nodded before he left, and Keith turned away, headed back toward the living quarters.

He ignored the sound of cheering from the ceremony’s guests that traveled through the walls and announced the team’s onstage arrival as he left.


	2. Chapter 2

Keith was woken the next morning by the sound of knocking at his door. The knocks were muffled by the way his head was nestled in Kosmo’s fur, and when first he peeled his eyes open, he wasn’t sure whether he’d heard it at all, but then the knocking started again.

He groaned softly and rolled an inch further into Kosmo, shutting his eyes from the morning light - already high in the sky, indicating that he’d slept much later into the day than usual. He couldn’t help that. He had been exhausted the night before, but had stayed up late anyway, pacing in his room even after a long walk with Kosmo and then staring up at the ceiling for hours on end unable to fall asleep when he actually tried.

He ignored the continuing knocks, and although Kosmo sniffed at him and at a couple of points nudged him with his nose and let out a small grunt, the wolf didn’t give away his presence. Keith was relieved, at the moment, he really wasn’t in the mood for talking to anyone. Eventually, the knocks subsided.

Though he left his eyes shut and Kosmo fell back to sleep beside him, Keith slowly found that now that he was awake, he couldn’t return. Still, he held out as long as possible before his growling stomach finally forced him to actually get up. With a sigh, he slowly dragged himself out of bed, got dressed, and started down toward the Garrison’s cafeteria.

It was as he walked there, though, that he started noticing that distinct, spine-prickling sensation of being watched, and glances onto the edge of periphery confirmed it. People he passed in the halls were casting him stares that bore into his back as he walked past them.

He folded his arms tightly over his chest and hunched forward while he walked, as if it would somehow make him less visible. It wasn’t that occasionally being stared at was an unusual thing for him at the Garrison - he was, after all, a paladin - but it had been growing gradually less common as the Garrison got used to Voltron’s presence, and even when they had first arrived back on Earth, it hadn’t been this bad.

The noise of the cafeteria lowered momentarily when he entered, and as Keith sat at a table in a far corner to quietly eat his meal, he kept picking up on people either watching him, or deliberately avoiding looking in his direction even when they passed right by him. And there were people whispering, far too soft to be typical cafeteria chatter.

By the time he finished eating, he was just about ready to burst from the awkwardness of it all. He needed to duck into someplace quiet, and he selected the Garrison’s central library. It was just down the hall from the cafeteria, making it a quick walk, and besides, it had been so long since he’d had time to read anything. Maybe it was just the sort of quiet distraction he needed for himself right now.

He hadn’t been browsing the shelves long before he passed by a bay of computer desks, and noticed a familiar head of cinnamon-brown hair poking out from behind the monitor of one of them. “Hey, Pidge” he asked as he approached, deciding he wouldn’t say no to the chance for some quiet company. “What are you up to?”

“Playing Solitaire,” Pidge answered.

Keith snorted. “No, really, what are you - ?” He stopped as Pidge tilted the monitor toward him, displaying an in-progress Solitaire game. “Oh.”

“Came in here with Matt to get a book,” she said. “Noticed that someone had a game open without finishing, so I had to fix that. Then I noticed that this computer’s Solitaire stats were pretty terrible, so I had to fix that too. Matt got bored like half an hour ago.” She turned to Keith. “What about you?”

“Just needed some quiet,” Keith answered. “And my room’s too cramped for now. Hey, have, uh… have people been acting weird around you at all today?”

“Weird how?”

“Like - like a lot of staring, and, um, whispers, and stuff.”

Pidge shook her head. “Not toward me.”

Keith groaned. “God, they’re probably wondering why I wasn’t at that ceremony last night. Probably have come up with all sorts of rumors about it…”

“Mm, wouldn’t put my money on that,” Pidge said slowly. “I don’t figure you watched any of the broadcast last night, did you?”

Keith scratched the back of his neck. “No, I uh… my mom and I took Kosmo for a walk. A long walk.”

Pidge nodded. “Well, I don’t blame you. And to be honest, it was pretty damn boring. Plus the stage lights were really hot and I was, like drenched in sweat by the end of it. But more importantly, guess you didn’t get to hear Shiro’s speech.”

“His speech?” Keith asked, raising a brow.

“Yeah. Don’t suppose anyone told you what he did with it?” Keith shook his head. “Here, I’ll show you,” Pidge said, scooting to the side and gesturing toward a nearby chair. Keith took the chair and pulled it up to take a seat beside Pidge as she opened a search engine and typed “takashi shirogane speech” into the search bar. The results appeared, and Pidge clicked on the first video on the page, the timestamp indicating it had been posted nine hours ago, with a thumbnail image of Shiro in the same gray dress shirt he’d had on the previous night, at the microphone on a blue-curtained stage.

Pidge silently reached into her bag and passed Keith her headphones, which he took and placed over his ears as Pidge plugged them into the jack, and then she pressed play. The video started with Officer Hannegan at the microphone halfway through introducing Shiro, who sat at the back of the stage in a row with the other paladins and MFE pilots, half of whom had made it into the video frame.

He stepped aside and let Shiro take the microphone amid the polite applause of the crowd gathered in the assembly room, and he launched immediately into his speech. The topics were similar to the ones Allura had written for Keith back when they’d thought he’d be speaking as well: a thank you to all the humans who had lent their strength and skills to fighting back against the Galra, a solemn remembrance for those who had been lost, an encouragement to rally together to rebuild and recover, and praise for the paladins and pilots he’d fought alongside.

Shiro paused for several seconds during this part, looking down at the note card in his hand - an action that surprised Keith. Shiro had always been a marvelous public speaker, Keith had seen him give plenty of speeches before, and on those occasions when he had notes with him, he hardly ever so much as glanced down at them. But here he was, leaving seconds of peculiar silence as he frowned at the card in his hand.

He broke the silence by clearing his throat, and he folded the card in half and tucked it into his pocket before leaning into the microphone and continuing, “One of these honored paladins was unable to join us for tonight’s ceremony. Keith Kogane, the black paladin of Voltron, as well as my close friend and mentee, has sat out of this evening’s event.”

He paused again, and the silence was thick, uncomfortable. “As I’m sure many of you who are in attendance here tonight are aware, seeing that plenty of coverage has been given to this fact, a fact that has apparently become an ‘issue’, Keith Kogane is half-Galra.” There were a few soft reactions in the crowd, and someone sitting close to whoever was running the camera murmured something unintelligible that nearly drowned Shiro’s voice out for a moment, so Keith had to strain to hear it. “He was asked to refrain from attending this ceremony, due to the fact that there are some who were worried about people’s reaction to his presence.

“It saddens me greatly that this is something that has even had to be taken into consideration, but I suppose I cannot completely discount the fears of the populace at large. I understand that it was a member of the Galra race that was responsible for leading the forces that caused destruction across our planet, and that it was Galra soldiers who enforced a regime that has caused you so much harm. I understand that, and I sympathize. If anyone would be able to, it would be me. At the hand of Galra soldiers, I lost my mission, my arm, and, in more sense than one, my life.”

Keith could feel how little blood remained in his face, and he was beginning to feel a distinct sense of nausea in his gut. He reached up a hand to remove his headphones, but Pidge halted him by putting her hand on his arm and mouthing, ‘Wait.’

“However,” Shiro continued, “The Galra who did so much to harm me are not the only Galra with whom I have come into contact during my time with Voltron. While imprisoned, I met Galra who were working from within the ranks of the army to sabotage their work and, eventually, to help me escape. I met Galra who gave their lives in battle to ensure the safety of myself, my fellow paladins, and countless innocents. I met Galra who dedicated themselves to taking down the same empire we fought against here on Earth.

“I met Galra soldiers who did their duty out of loyalty to the Empire, but were willing to listen and to change. I met Galra who were never involved in the Empire’s regime, but simply wanted to live their lives, because like any human, these Galra had jobs and dreams and families and hobbies and pets. And I was able to put aside the terrifying ordeal I’d had at the hands of _some_  Galra, and realize whether a person, a person from any planet, is good or evil, enemy or ally, is determined by actions and choices, not blood.

“It was a Galra who postponed the threat against Earth and fought to keep its inhabitants a secret from the Empire for years, and when a Galra did seek to do humanity such harm, it was a Galra who led the lions of Voltron into the battle that finally rid us of this terrifying threat.

“This ceremony tonight was set to honor those who helped bring planet Earth safety and who will be helping in our efforts to rebuild our civilization to what it once was. Many, if not all, of you out there have already had the opportunity to meet and work with allies from other galaxies, gathered here on Earth on behalf of the Voltron coalition to assist in reconstruction and to help us reach out our lines of communication to new corners of the universe.

“These efforts will not be possible without our open-mindedness, respect, and willingness to welcome new beings with histories and innovations and ideas that planet Earth has never yet so much as fathomed, and for the most part, we have accepted these allies with open arms. I only hope that our fears and reservations can be put aside enough that we can do the same for  _all_  who have done so much for the universe and for Earth, regardless of whether they be human, Altean, Olkari, Balmeran… or Galra.

“And I hope that the next time the paladins of Voltron are asked to be honored before the entire world at large, there will be room on the stage for all of them.”

He stepped back from the microphone, and there was a stiff smattering of applause before the video cut itself off, and an autoplay of the next video in the queue, this one of Sam Holt speaking at the same event, began to load. Pidge exited out of the video player before it could start, and slowly Keith lowered the headphones from his ears.

“So,” Pidge said, “What did you think?”

“… How pissed off were Hannegan and Gadhavi?” Keith asked.

“Very. But I think that’s at least partly due to the fact that Shiro went a full two minutes over his time allotment. Mega irresponsible of him.”

“But like, were - were people upset? Did they like what he said, or, um, or were they mad?”

“Hard to say,” Pidge said with a shrug. “It was a real formal ceremony, not like they were gonna start a riot then and there if they didn’t like the speech.”

“Should we at least see what - ” Keith started, taking the mouse and starting to scroll down, but Pidge snatched his hand away.

“Number one rule of the internet, man,” she said. “Never read the comments.” She yawned and scooted back in her chair. “There’s probably, like, a hundred thousand think-pieces out there about it already, and maybe a dozen of them are coherent.” She raised a brow at Keith. “I’m not gonna try and stop you from looking at them or anything, I’m not in charge of you, but, well… there’s a whole subgenre of videos out there of dogs being placed on trampolines, and they’re probably way more entertaining, and better for your health.”

“Hm. I’ll keep that in mind,” Keith said.

“All righty. Well, I’m off,” Pidge said, getting up from her chair. “Need to take a look at that book Matt needed. Oh, by the way, you’re probably gonna end up talking with Shiro anyway today, on account of - ” She gestured toward the computer screen. “ - but he told us that if any of us see you around, to tell you to go one over to him. Apparently he was trying to visit you in your room this morning, but you wouldn’t come out?”

“Ah. Right,” Keith said, remembering the knocking that had woken him. “I overslept.”

“Never thought I’d hear Keith Kogane, King of the Early Risers say that. Don’t stare at the computer screen too long, you’ll melt your eyes out.” And with that and a quick wave of her hand, she left.

Keith pushed his chair all the way into the computer desk and backed out of the webpage hosting the video and back to search engine. As he was halfway through erasing the search, he glanced at the auto-complete options that the search bar gave him.

 ** _takashi sh_** _irogane  
_**_takashi sh_** _irogane atlas  
_**_takashi sh_** _irogane voltron  
_**_takashi sh_** _irogane interview  
_**_takashi sh_** _irogane galaxy garrison  
_**_takashi sh_** _irogane kerberos  
_**_takashi sh_** _irogane news  
__is_ **takashi sh** irogane single

Keith couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at that last search term. It was amusing, almost comforting, to see that, despite everything that had happened over the last few years, the population at large seemed to still have the same priorities they always did, inane though those priorities may be.

He backspaced the rest of the search, then paused as he stared at the text cursor blinking invitingly at him in the blank search bar.

Taking a deep breath, he typed in his own name. He didn’t bother hitting ‘enter’, just stared at the auto-complete results that popped up.

 **_keith kogane  
_ ** **_keith kogane_ **_galra_

Something in his gut hardened at the fact that the very first result, besides his name on its own, was about his heritage. He read the rest of the results.

 ** _keith kogane  
_****_keith kogane_** _galra  
_**_keith kogane_** _voltron  
_**_keith kogane_** _human  
_**_keith kogane_** _mother  
_**_keith kogane_** _alien  
__is **keith kogane**  galra  
_**_keith kogane_** _mutation  
_**_keith kogane_** _history  
__is_ **keith kogane**  human

A sick curiosity had him hovering his cursor over the ‘Search’ button on the screen, but he couldn’t bring himself to click on it. Instead, he simply let the list of auto-complete options burn themselves into his vision for several minutes before he finally exited out of the browser.

And after another long few minutes of staring at the desktop, taking deep breaths in and deep breaths out, he opened the browser back up, pulled up the search engine, and, per Pidge’s recommendation, typed in “dogs on trampolines.”


	3. Chapter 3

It took Keith a while to track down Shiro. He had initially just called his phone to ask his whereabouts, but it had gone straight to voicemail, so either the phone was turned off or the battery was dead, so he had to go about finding him the old-fashioned way. A search of the team’s living quarters, the Garrison’s cafeteria and gym, and their usual meeting rooms yielded no results, but he finally ran into Sam when he checked in one of the Atlas research labs. “You just missed him,” Sam told him. “Got called over to the communications wing not half a minute ago.”

Keith thanked him and went on his way, making it to the indicated wing and peering into door windows in search of a familiar tuft of white hair. He eventually spotted it through the door to the public relations office, and marched inside without preamble.

The place was surprisingly loud, and crowded. Phones were ringing, voices were going at a mile a minute, the office block was flooded in gray uniforms, some sitting two to a desk. Obviously the staff was being kept busy at the moment. Shiro was in the middle of the bustle, in a low but fervent conversation with Hannegan, a person whose presence was really starting to grate on Keith’s nerves, and one of the other officers who had met with him a few days back - Mendoza, if he recalled correctly.

He was the one speaking as Keith approached. “ - doesn’t come down to a matter of morality,” he was saying. “That’s not the issue here. We didn’t - ”

“Keith, what are you doing here?” Shiro asked, turning suddenly away from Mendoza mid-sentence and leaving the latter scowling.

“I was looking for you,” Keith answered. “Wanted to, um, chat.”

“It will have to wait,” Mendoza said. “We’re busy.”

“Perhaps if you gentlemen would like to step into my office?” said Hannegan. “Give us a bit more privacy?”

“Is this about Shiro’s speech?” Keith asked.

Mendoza sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, some privacy would probably be best,” he said, ignoring Keith’s question entirely. “If you’ll come this way…”

Keith made to follow as the others began to move, but Mendoza turned to him and said, “I’ll have to ask you to wait, Kogane. This doesn’t concern you.”

“If it’s about the speech, yes, it does,” Keith said, crossing his arms.

“Mr. Kogane - ”

“You may as well bring him along,” Shiro said. “Whatever you want to say to me, I’ll probably having to pass it along to the rest of the team anyway. Save me a trip.”

Mendoza set his jaw and muttered something Keith couldn’t quite make out before saying, “Fine. Hannegan, lead the way.”

The little group moved to an adjacent office, the busy sounds from the rest of the office block muffled as Hannegan shut the door behind him. He took a seat behind a desk bearing his nameplate, and Keith and Shiro both sank into chairs against the office’s wall. Mendoza remained standing.

“If you must know, Mr. Kogane,” Hannegan said as soon as they were all seated. “Yes, we were discussing the matter of Mr. Shirogane’s… conduct, at last night’s ceremony. As we were explaining to him before you interrupted, the general consensus regarding the contents of his little improvisation were rather, ah, mixed.”

“It seems that someone has forgotten that the words we speak into a microphone don’t exist in a vacuum,” Mendoza added. “Actions have consequences. Immediate and palpable ones, at that.”

“Consequences?” Keith repeated. “What, you’re - you’re  _punishing_  Shiro?”

“No, no!” Hannegan said hastily, at the same time as Mendoza’s flat reply of, “We don’t have that authority.”

“Our fine officers here,” Shiro said, turning to Keith, “Just seem to feel that I’ve painted the Garrison in a bad light, and want to make me aware of it.”

“Look, Mr. Shirogane - ” Hannegan started.

“Captain,” Shiro cut him off. Keith raised a brow at him. For all the time he’d known Shiro, he couldn’t remember any time he’d ever insisted on being addressed by his rank, not since returning to Earth from Voltron, nor during his time on Earth before the Kerberos mission. Even back then, it had still always been weird to hear people call him ‘Lieutenant Shirogane’, and he’d let everyone get away with just calling him ‘Shiro’ instead when no other officers were around.

Hannegan’s eyes flashed in annoyance, and he cleared his throat. “Right.  _Captain_  Shirogane. I understand and respect that you were only trying to do a nice thing for your friend, but I don’t think that you are being fully appreciative of the consequences for the Garrison of that speech your made.”

“Enlighten me, then,” Shiro said, crossing his arms casually over his chest.

“First of all,” Mendoza said, “Let me make one thing clear to you: We did not ‘start’ this issue. The Garrison did not ‘start’ this issue. The Galaxy Garrison has been nothing but supportive to the Voltron crew since the moment you landed. And I should emphasize that this support was for  _all_  the paladins of Voltron.”

“You call kicking Keith out of a medal ceremony ‘supportive’?”

“We did not kick him out!” Hannegan said in practically a groan, bringing a hand up to rub his fingertips to his temple. “We came to a mutual agreement that - ”

“It’s not ‘mutual’ if you were the ones who - ” Shiro started, and Keith glanced down as Shiro put a reassuring hand on his knee.

“Captain Shirogane,” Mendoza cut him off, “You’ve apparently already made your opinion on that matter clear, and it’s beside the point. The decision made regarding Keith’s presence or lack thereof at yesterday’s ceremony had nothing to do with our personal feelings toward him or Voltron. It was in response to a controversy that, and I cannot emphasize this enough,  _the Garrison did not start_. Keeping Keith out of the limelight was a means to keep the paladins safe, and the discussion of reconstruction efforts secure and peaceful. We were trying to keep the focus on issues _besides_  the conflict of whether to accept Galra allies on Earth.”

Shiro scowled. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t working in cooperation with the Galra be a central part of our reconstruction, not a separate issue?”

“It’s an adjacent issue, not central,” Mendoza answered. “The most important alliance we should be focusing on during our planet’s reconstruction is the unification of Earth’s population itself, between countries as well as within communities. Our relations with other planets comes second, and even then, we have made leeway with planet populations that have been nothing but peaceful with us. Establishing positive relations with the Olkari or the Balmerans is higher priority for our purposes. The Galra, though? Really, our goal right now is more civility than active cooperation. You cannot reasonably expect the people of Earth to be able to transition immediately from being violently oppressed by the Galra to being willing to work alongside them.”

“The Galra we’re working alongside are not the same Galra who hurt our planet,” Shiro said.

“We  _know_  that,” Hannegan replied, exasperated. “You are wasting your breath lecturing to us about that, Captain. We know. But the people who don’t? They’re not going to be swayed by a pretty speech, and you cannot blame them for not being enthusiastic about being told they need to immediately move past the negativity they are harboring due to the hurt they have been caused in order to make the Galra feel welcome.”

“They’re going to have to eventually,” Shiro said. “And don’t you think that getting to see some media exposure of the Galra who are doing good for the planet would be an ideal place to start? Especially in the case of Keith.” Keith himself squirmed in his seat as the officers’ eyes moved to him and Shiro continued, “He’s half-Galra, half-human. A middle ground, basically a bridge between the two. If anyone could ease people into being more comfortable with the idea of working alongside the Galra - ”

“That’s all well and good,” Mendoza said, “But you are overlooking the point. The ceremony last night was  _not about_  human-Galra relations or tolerance.  _You_  are the one who decided to place the focus there. Yes, it’s fine to want to gradually introduce Earth to the idea of cooperation with the Galra, but that was not the time nor the platform for it. And it was not the time for the Garrison to publicly make a stand on the issue. But because of your little speech, the whole world thinks we have.”

Shiro set his jaw. “You made a stand on the issue the moment you insisted on Keith sitting out. And you can’t seriously think this is something you could have stayed  _neutral_  on.”

“Not including Keith in the ceremony was a security precaution,” Hannegan said. “It was never a matter of - ”

“Oh, security precaution my ass,” Shiro spat, and Keith’s jaw dropped as he turned to stare at Shiro. “You can’t honestly believe that having Keith around posed any threat to - ”

“He  _did_ ,” Mendoza interrupted in practically a growl.

Shiro paused, brow furrowing. “What are you talking about?”

“Like I told you, there were consequences to your speech,” Mendoza said. “We were trying to keep the whole debate about working with the Galra contained. You not only brought it out to center stage, but you painted the whole issue as if the Garrison has made its stance against the Galra, and that you, the Atlas, and Voltron are in opposition to us. First of all, this makes it look as if even within this facility, we are unable to come together and cooperate for the sake of Earth’s reconstruction. Considering that this was the very focus of last night’s ceremony, you can imagine how poorly that reflects on our efforts and what a hit that was for morale.”

“But - ”

“Second of all, now that, according to you, everyone has taken sides, people now want to weigh in with their own opinions, and they do not do so subtly. The Garrison has already been stirring up a fair bit of criticism, but are you aware that you have also managed to stir up those who are opposed to working with the Galra? Are you aware that the Garrison has been upping security around the campus and the Atlas throughout the morning because we have received multiple threats, to the Garrison as a whole, to the Atlas, and to you, specifically?”

Shiro was silent.

“No,” Mendoza said, “You weren’t. Because you did not consider that possibility when you insisted on flaunting your moral high ground last night.”

Out of the corner of his eye Keith could see Shiro’s fingers curling into fist at his side, but otherwise, he kept his composure. “And what exactly do you suggest I do about that now?” Shiro asked grimly.

“The Garrison’s PR department is doing its best to try to refocus the media on our reconstruction campaigns,” Hannegan said, and there was a tired dryness to his voice. “But we can’t exactly erase the attention that the issue about the Galra has now received. So now, it seems we’re going to have to be redirecting resources to dealing with  _that_  media brouhaha.”

“Which, of course, is going to take away from the focus we were supposed to give to the reconstruction efforts,” Mendoza grumbled. “But, hey, as long as Captain Shiro’s happy, that’s the priority, right?”

Keith glared at him, and spoke up for the first time since they’d come into the office. “If you have some sort of problem with Shiro - ”

“We’ve actually been giving the matter some consideration,” Hannegan loudly interrupted. Keith redirected his glare to him; the man could have at least tried to be subtle about yanking them back onto the topic at hand. “For the time being, in order to seem as neutral as possible, we’re going to limit Voltron’s media presence as much as possible. We’ve cancelled a panel scheduled for next week and a radio interview meant for Saturday. Our official statement is that the paladins are refocusing their time and efforts into the reconstruction, and will thus be too busy for press appearances. We’re working with a couple of select photographers to attain exclusive ‘candid’ footage of the paladins at cleanup and relief sites to corroborate. In the meantime, we’ll look for a different time to reintroduce Keith to the media. Perhaps some event involving the Lions? That way, his presence would appease those who approve of Galra cooperation, and to those who don’t, it would simply seem a necessity, as he is the only one who can pilot the Black Lion, correct?”

Keith and Shiro glanced toward each other. “Yeah,” Keith said. “Yeah, that’s - that’s correct.”

“Good.” Hannegan stood from his desk. “I’ll get in touch as soon as more details are arranged. In the meantime, I advise that you both focus on your work with Voltron and the Atlas. The public relations department will handle this as best we can. And Captain Shirogane?”

“Yes?”

“I know that you are not under my command, so I suppose this is not an order, but please - if anyone in the press does somehow make contact with you over this issue, we ask that you give no comment. We’re trying to douse these flames, not fan them.”

Shiro’s lips flattened into a thin line as he nodded brusquely and stood to leave. Keith followed after him, and there were no goodbyes exchanged with the officers before they were marching out of the office, then out of the communications wing.

The moment the sounds from the offices had completely faded, Shiro stopped in his tracks to lean against the wall with a sigh, letting his eyes drift closed. “Sorry about all that,” he said to Keith.

“What do you have to be sorry for?” Keith said. He leaned against the wall beside Shiro.

Shiro opened one eye to raise a brow toward Keith. “Uh, everything Hannegan and the other one were talking about in there? Last thing I wanted to do was get you all mixed up in any sort of media firestorm.”

“Yeah, well…” Keith sighed. “Probably would have happened one way or another anyway. Apparently people have already been getting stirred up about this stuff, just were waiting on a reason to get loud about it.”

“Still,” Shiro said.

“… For what it’s worth,” Keith said slowly. “I’m, um - I’m glad you said it. The stuff you said in the speech. Pidge showed me a video of it. I think - I think a lot of people needed to hear.” He sighed again. “I kinda think maybe I did too. So, you know… thanks.”

“Anytime,” Shiro said.

“So… what now?”

“Now…” Shiro straightened up from the wall and stretched. “Now, I think I want to take a nap.”

“Mind if I join?”

“Be my guest.”


	4. Chapter 4

_In light of the paladins of Voltron being officially given a clean bill of health across the board as of this morning and being approved to participate fully in reconstruction efforts, Voltron and the crew of the Atlas will be stepping back from the public until further notice. Instead, their time will be devoted to actively assisting in restoration, relief, and security services._

_For this reason, Voltron in association with the Galaxy Garrison will be limiting press presence from this point forward. Certain future planned public appearances by the paladins have been cancelled, and no interviews, photographs, video, or other media may be taken of the crew of the Voltron or the Atlas without direct approval from the Galaxy Garrison Department of Public Relations. This measure is to ensure the peace and privacy of the crews and prevent interference with their work._

_Questions or requests for official press authorization should all be directed to the Galaxy Garrison Department of Public Relations._

“So, what, we’re talking media blackout here?” Pidge asked, looking up from her tablet. Shiro had forwarded the press release, one that was scheduled to be officially released this evening, to the other paladins as they had gathered for their group meeting in the rec room. Pidge was the first to break the silence, and the others looked up from their own devices or from where they had been reading over others’ shoulders, as they finished reading it as well. Keith was the only one who didn’t, and instead he continued scowling down at his knees where he sat scrunched and cross-armed in the couch corner. Shiro had already shown him the press release beforehand.

“Not a total blackout,” Shiro answered. He was the only one standing, his hands grasping the top of an empty chair as he faced the others, straight-backed and authoritative. “We’re not cutting off the media altogether, that would just seem suspicious as hell. But the Garrison wants us to limit our media presence as much as possible for the time being. And for the few media appearances we do make, it seems they want us to, ah, limit the scope of discussion topics. No talking about relations with the Galra, nothing about Keith’s role on the team; we’re supposed to focus only on reconstruction on Earth, and direct the focus back onto that topic if they try to bring up anything else.”

He lifted his own tablet, pulling up the e-mail he had been sent by the communications department. “Apparently we’re gonna be meeting with them tomorrow to go over protocol for dealing with the press right now and getting briefed on whatever damage control campaign they come up with, but I thought it’d be best if you guys knew now, so we can, um, discuss it without interference from the PR people or - or judgment.” Keith didn’t miss the way Shiro’s eyes flicked toward him before he continued, “So if you’ve got anything you want to say about - ”

“Yeah, couple things,” Lance said. “First off, does this include, like, just fan photos and stuff like that? Like, you know, if I’m out walking down the street and someone wants to take a picture with the legendary paladin - ” Keith rolled his eyes. “ - Is that allowed? Or does that count as, like, an unauthorized photoshoot? Because I’d kinda hate to deprive everybody of the chance to get their very own personal pictures of this beautiful face, you know?”

“Probably,” Shiro said. “If you do that too often, it may contradict the whole thing about us all being busy and wanting privacy.”

Lance nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, guess that makes sense. Secondly, more of a comment than a question: this is bullshit.”

Shiro sighed. “Look, I know that these measures may seem a little annoying, but - ”

“No, no, it’s not the measures themselves,” Lance said. “I don’t like them, sure, but all things considered, I guess they sorta make sense. They don’t want us adding fuel to the fire, that’s fine. The bullshit is the  _reason_  they’re doing it. They decide to just cut off our media presence and drop the subject of the Galra altogether because some assholes are getting pissy about Keith?”

Keith hunched his shoulders, eyes down so as to not have to meet the gazes of the rest of the team. There it was. He had wanted to avoid trouble, wanted to avoid causing any difficulty for the other paladins. But it seemed that it wasn’t an option for him. His very presence on the team was always going to be a problem, one way or another.

“It does seem rather strange that they’re going about things this way,” Allura said with a frown. “Granted, I’m hardly knowledgeable in how Earth’s media or this Garrison works, but if there is such tension over the issue of cooperation with Galra, wouldn’t it be best to address the matter directly to the masses rather than push it into the background?”

“Apparently not, at least not while tensions are so high on the matter,” Shiro said. “Keep in mind, the Galaxy Garrison’s got its media and public relations department and all, but it’s not a news station. They’re not under any obligation to try to raise awareness of any issue or sway public opinion in any direction. Their job is the space program and military efforts, and if staying neutral on the whole thing is the best way to focus on keeping those running smoothly and safely…” He shrugged, and Keith detected a hint of bitterness in his voice when he finished, “I guess it’s their call to make.”

“Yeah, but to go straight from having Voltron be the Garrison’s media darlings to suddenly wanting us out of the spotlight as much as possible?” Hunk said. “Pretty big shift in plans, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid I’m probably to blame for that,” Shiro said. With another sigh, he moved around the chair to sink into it, pausing to rub at the bridge of his nose before continuing, “Even with all the press stuff we’ve been doing, they’ve all been about that battle with Sendak and how Voltron works and the Garrison’s operations. Tensions against the Galra were there,  _sure_ , but they weren’t really a point of focus for anyone. When I made that speech at the medal ceremony, I guess I pushed the issue in the spotlight, and also kinda made it look like Voltron was warring with the Garrison over the whole matter. Guess it was a polarizing move on my part.”

“Well, uh, for what it’s worth, I think you did a good job,” Hunk said.

Shiro gave him a little smile. “Thanks, Hunk. But, still, I should’ve thought it through more. I was fired up, and I made a poor judgment call.”

“You didn’t,” Keith spoke up. He didn’t lift his gaze, but he felt the others turn to look at him even without seeing them. “People listen to you, and they gave you a platform and a microphone, and you used that to speak up about something that matters. That’s a good thing. But you - you shouldn’t have had to make a stand about anything at all.”

He took a deep breath and looked up, eyes flicking between his teammates’ attentive gazes. “Look, I, um - I know that having a half-Galra on the team doesn’t exactly - doesn’t exactly make things easier for us. For Voltron. And it’s caused problems before, and I should’ve known it would cause problems here too. I’m really sor- ”

“ _No,_ ” Pidge cut him off.

Keith blinked over at her. “No?”

Pidge scowled and jabbed her finger toward Keith. “I know what you’re about to do. You’re about to apologize for, what, existing? Being born? Well, stuff it, Keith. You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”

Keith sighed. “That’s not it, I was just going to apologize for, you know, for causing trouble…”

“Yeah, trouble just based on the fact that you’re half-Galra, which is something that you  _can’t fucking help_. It’s not  _your_  fault that people are idiots about it.”

“Look, I’m just saying, if it had been someone else on the team instead of me, someone less… controversial… hell, if I just weren’t the one piloting Black - ”

“Then it’s doubtful we would still be alive to be having this discussion in the first place,” Allura finished for him. She tilted her head as she looked at Keith, a furrow in her brow that suggested either sympathy or pity; neither was particularly appealing, but between the two, Keith hoped it was the former. “I know how the people who have this problem with you are thinking, and why they feel the way they do. And I know it’s not right. It… wasn’t right when I was the one who thought that way, and it’s not right now.”

“And, hey, long as we’re talking blame,” Lance said. “Isn’t this kinda the Garrison’s own fault? If they hadn’t pulled Keith out of that ceremony thing, Shiro wouldn’t have made the speech in the first place.”

“They had their reasons,” Shiro relented. “Admittedly, it seems they were right in thinking it was safer to keep Keith out of the spotlight.”

“You saying you agree with them?”

Shiro hesitated. “I… understand their viewpoint.”

“So that’s a no.”

“It’s just us here, Shiro,” Pidge said. “You don’t need to be diplomatic. You can say it: fuck the Garrison.”

“Language, Pidge.”

“Oh, please, I know for a fact that you swear like a sailor too when no one’s around for you to be a ‘good role model’ to.”

Shiro turned to stare at her. “How do you even…?”

“Matt shares stuff, Shiro.”

“Ah. Remind me to slap him later.”

“Will do. Seriously, though, come on. The Garrison’s PR people may be trying to keep the peace and all, but let’s not pretend they’re all-knowing or unfailing or anything. These are the same people who tried to cover up what happened on the Kerberos mission, remember? The ones that claimed you and my family were dead, blamed you for it, tried to keep everything secret when you crashed back to Earth? And now they’re screwing Keith over. Just doesn’t end with these people.”

Shiro set his jaw. “I’m… certainly not their biggest fan,” he said slowly. “But while we’re here on Earth, we’re working closely with them. I’m captain of the Atlas, after all, and that’s  _their_  ship. It’s easiest and best for all of us if we play nice.”

“Okay, fine,” Pidge said, crossing her arms. “I’ll play nice, but first you gotta say it.”

“Say what?”

“Fuck the Garrison.”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Pidge - ”

“Aw, come on, Shiro,” Lance said, a grin splitting across his face. “I said it about twelve times a day while I was a cadet. It’s cathartic.”

“I really don’t think - ”

“Say it or I’ll dedicate all my waking hours to finding every reporter in the city and inciting riots.”

“For the love of - fine. Fuck the Garrison.”

Pidge and Lance both let out whoops, and Hunk even clapped, while Allura simply stared at the lot of them in confusion. Keith couldn’t stop his own little smile from escaping. “Now,” Shiro said. “If that’s all taken care of, guess we’re done here. Officer Hannegan said he’s gonna try to get some candid photos arranged of us helping at a cleanup site, so someone will let you know when that’s scheduled. You’re all dismissed.”

The paladins got to their feet around Keith, some soft grumbling among them as they made their way to the door. Shiro got up from his seat, but rather than leave, he moved to the couch settling down into the corner opposite Keith, who was still stiffly scrunched in place like he had been through the whole group meeting. Once the team was all out of their room and the door had closed behind them, Shiro cleared his throat. “How you doing, Keith?”

“Fine,” Keith answered.

“Really?”

“Mm.” Keith straightened his posture and stretched out his legs. “Really. That… went better than I’d expected.”

“Oh?” Shiro raised a brow.

“Well, I just had thought that - that the others would, uh, you know…”

“Blame you?”

Keith shrugged.

“Yeah, kinda figured you were thinking along those lines,” Shiro sighed. “Pidge was right, though, Keith. If people have a problem with you being Galra, that’s  _their_ problem, not yours.” He nudged Keith’s foot with his own and gave him a small smile. “And give your team some credit. They know that too, and they’ve got your back.”

“Yeah…”

Shiro let out a huff of breath. “I know this is frustrating, but - but for now, we’ll try to keep busy. And if anyone gives you trouble, you come to me, okay?”

“And what?” Keith asked, quirking a brow. “You’ll beat them up for me?”

“I’ll give them a scare, at the very least.” Shiro yawned and got to his feet. “Speaking of keeping busy, I gotta meet with the Atlas crew and give them this whole rundown too. You need anything, you tell me, okay?”

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> This will almost definitely receive a continuation later, although I'm not sure yet whether it will be through the form of additional chapters or a sequel fic. So, I'll just leave it marked complete for the time being.
> 
> Please direct all anon hate to [my tumblr](http://justheretobreakthings.tumblr.com)!


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